Friday, June 24, 2011

Here I am again with another selection of cards that I received sometime ago but have never shown before here on the blog. I am glad to be finally bringing these cards to light and the postal lockout here in Canada gives me the opportunity. Yes, Canada Post still has their doors locked and their letterboxes sealed. Still no mail arriving or going out. It must be about 2 weeks now . I have quite a large number of cards waiting to go out, even stamped already, and I hope that after a settlement is reached , my mailbox will fill up quickly with postcards. Now, onto the cards from my so-called archives . Today we will have cards from Honduras, Jordan, Bolivia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Peru, and Bermuda. A nice group of countries , indeed.

Honduras --- What better way to start off today than with a map card. I know there are lots of map card collectors out there, so feast your eyes on Honduras. This country of around eight million people in Central America was formerly known as Spanish Honduras. It is bordered by Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The capital of Honduras is Tegucigalpa and for whatever reason, that is one place name that I love to say, it just seems to flow out of your mouth. It is easy to say, at least I think so, unlike many others around the world. April used a 2005 stamp celebrating 70 years of diplomatic relations between Honduras and Japan.

Jordan --- Today's second card gives us a look at The Deir at Petra, Jordan. The Deir or Monastery is one of the largest monuments in Petra. Petra is a historical and archaeological city famous for its rock cut architecture. It is also Jordan's most visited tourist attraction and has been described in a number of ways including "a rose-red city half as old as time" , "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage" and as one of "the 40 places you have to see before you die." UNESCO added Petra to its list of World Heritage Sites in 1985.Mervat sent this card along from Amman. Sadly it didn't come with a stamp , just a postage paid meter stamp from The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. A nice card though.

Bolivia --- Alexis's card is of the semi - subterranean temple at Tiwanku. Located 170 km northwest of La Paz and 20 km south west of Lake Titicaca, it is an ancient architectural complex in Bolivia. Alexis used 2 copies of a 2005 or 2006 surcharged stamp that was originally issued in 1986.

Bangladesh --- Faisal's card is entitled Tribal Life-style. Not a lot I can say about that. So on to the stamps. On the left are 2 copies of a 1995 National Diabetes Awareness Day stamp. On the right is a 2005 stamp featuring a fish, a Nandus Nandus.

Indonesia --- Elizabeth sent this card showing the beautiful cliffs of Pangandaran seashore on West Java. Looks like a great place just to sit and contemplate. Elizabeth used two stamps, the red one on the left was issued in 2001 and is from a set of 8 Greeting stamps, all flowers. The stamp on the right was issued in 2005 and is 1 of 3 issued for Energy.

Just 2 more cards to go, so hang in there.

Peru --- A multi view card showing some partial views of Machu Picchu, the 15th century Inca site, located at 2,430 metres above sea level. Christy sent this card of the UNESCO World Heritage Site . It was added to the list in 1983. The stamp here , issued in 2005 , celebrates the 100th Anniversary of The National Academy of History.

The last card- Bermuda--- Ah, Bermuda, a wonderful and beautiful place. A very relaxing place. I have visited there and would love to go back again. This card, from Terri who works for the Bermuda Dept of Tourism, shows just how relaxing a place it is. We have a gentleman relaxing in his robe with his lady friend behind him. The bird stamp is from 2005 , 1 of a set of 6 featuring Habitats. This one shows a bird in the Upland Forest.That is all for this time. Thanks for the cards Christy, Terri, Elizabeth, Faisal, Alexis, Mervat and April. Without people like you I wouldn't have much to blog about, at least not postcard wise.I should be back early next week, but I guess that depends on when Canada Post restarts the postal service that they shut down. See you soon.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Hello again. Well it's all Turkey today, and I don't mean what's on the table. I do mean the country, as in where today's cards are from. Actually I only have one new card to show today, but a couple of others will help make up today's update. Today's card comes to me from Trabzon, Turkey compliments of another Postcrosser. Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea. I like this card a lot. It gives us a view of old time Istanbul. It is the 3rd card of its type that I have received. The stamps are from the 2008 set of 9 definitives. Here is another view of Istanbul on an earlier card from the same set of cards. Here is the 3 rd card which I have received from this set, this one shows Izmir City. Both of these last 2 cards I have featured in earlier blogs. I actually found , online, 31 different cards of this set. I don't know if that is the total or not but they do make a fine set.

Still no mail coming my way, Canada Post still has all its workers locked out , so no mail is moving. I guess it's back to the archives next week for a few cards from the past, that never made it online.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

It's been a while since I've been here on the blog. It's good to be back, but I haven't really been anywhere. Time, there just never seems to be enough. I have been spending many evenings watching the Stanley Cup hockey playoffs (now over) , the weather has sucked, rain , rain and more rain. It's is actually pouring out of the heavens as I write this, so this seems like a great time to update the blog. To top if all off Canada Post has shut down, locked out 43,000 employees across Canada, after a series of rotating strikes. Postal service went from 5 days a week to 3 days a week , to Zero days a week, a total shutdown. Mail boxes are taped shut. So, no postcards arriving, no postcards departing, what am I going to do ? I don't think it will last too long, even though I am not in favour of it, I believe our government will force the workers back to work soon, most likely early next week. Enough pontificating , on to the postcards, that I have on hand .

Israel is first. The card , from a Postcrosser, gives us a bird's eye view of Masada, Herod's northern palace. Masada is located on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. The cliffs on the east edge are about 400 meters high , while the cliffs on the west are about 91 meters high.My online catalogue of stamps seems to be down, so very little info on stamps is available. You will just have to enjoy looking at them. On this card from Israel you can seen 2 of a set of WWF leopard stamps recently issued by Israel. It is a magnificent set and one I would love to add to my collection. There is also a single stamp in the upper right corner.Moving on, my next card is from Macedonia. Of course, it's from Ana, who else ? She recently found a selection of postcards and this Roman aqueduct is one of them. Some sources say this aqueduct dates from Roman times and others say it dates from much later. Who knows ?Ana's blog, My World of Postcards is here . It's a great read. Thanks Ana for this card and the great aviation related stamp. It is from 2003 and celebrates the 100th anniversary of flight.Now for a couple of cards from somewhere sunny and warm, St. Lucia. A great place to show cards from , when it is raining and cold here. It's still raining and 11 degrees c here right now. Both cards are from Mandy, who I recently private swapped a few cards with. Her wonderful postcard blog, Gone Postal is here . Mandy's first card gives us a look at Castries, the capital , at night. Her second card shows one of the many lovely beaches on the island with Pigeon Island in the background. Mandy used the same 2005 stamp on both cards.

A Latvian card is next. It is from Maija and Sergey. The card shows Dome Church , of Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Riga. The stamp on the left was issued in 2006 and the one on the right in 2008. Both are nice stamps.

On the next card we can see a night view of Beijing, showing the China Millennium Monument. A couple o0f nice colorful stamps are used on this card from Yue Wang. The large stamp in the middle was issued in 1996 , while the bright stamp on the right was issued in 2009.That is it for this update. Hope you enjoyed the cards . I'm hoping to be back here again tomorrow with another little update. See you then. Leave a comment if you are inclined to do so. I appreciate reading them.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

I'm back again with a new update. Nothing spectacular , just a few cards from a few places . First up is Croatia. I received this card from a PostCrosser, who says Dubrovnik is the most beautiful Croatian town. The card shows Dubrovnik fortifications at night. The stamp was issued in 2010 and is 1 of a set of 4 celebrating Etnographic heritage.

The next card came to me from Saint Malo, France. Quentin, a student in Saint Malo sent this card showing Portsmouth, England . Quentin writes that the ferry from Saint Malo arrives in Portsmouth. On the is card are 2 Marianne definitives along with a 2010 Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games stamp.

Now for a card from Denmark. You know, I've collected cards now for over 5 years and I think this is only my 3rd card from that country. Kinda strange actually. All you Danes out there, send me a card. I'll gladly receive any and all. Lene sent this card showing the National Flag and a very old house in the city of Odense. I guess it's not difficult for Odense to have old houses , since the city celebrated its 1000th anniversary in 1988. As I have often commented in this blog, there's nothing that old around these parts. And , if there was, we'd probably tear it down . One famous citizen of Odense was Hans Christian Andersen, author and poet. Lene used a 2010 stamp celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Carsten Niebuhrs Arab expedition of 1761.

The last card for this update is a shaped card showing a large square in Kromeriz, Czecg Republic. It also shows us a number of Coats of Arms of various towns and cities in Czech Republic. Iveta sent this card from her hometown of Krozeriz. She used a flower definitive from 2007 and 2 copies of a 2011 A rate stamp showing chicks in the nest.Thanks for these cards go out to Iveta, Lene, Quentin and the Croatian Postcrosser, who's name I can't make out.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Kuzey Kibris Turk Cumhuriyeti - That's the name in Turkish. A new addition to my collection , # 247 , leaving just 25 more to collect, at least at this time. It will revert back to 26 on July 9th with the Independence of Southern Sudan. Oh well, I'll just keep hacking away.

Now on to the cards. My first card from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus gives us a look at a number of cities and towns in northern Cyprus, along with a bunch of kids in local dress. Northern Cyprus is a de facto independent state located on the northern portion of the island of Cyprus. A unilateral declaration of independence was declared in 1983. However, Northern Cyprus has received diplomatic recognition only from Turkey. My second card from there is called "Sleeping City, Famagusta". It gives us a look at an abandoned town called Varosha . It was a modern town until 1974, when the Greek backed coup and Turkish invasion happened. Now it is controlled by the Turkish Armed Forces and only available to soldiers. No one else can enter the area. Both cards carry the same stamp. It was issued in 2008 and is 1 of a set of 10 definitives, all featuring orchids. Now , how did I come to receive these cards ? Well, first off they were a big surprise. Both cards are from Pinar, who has a postcard blog called Pinuccia's World of Postcards . She is a friend of Leslie of the postcard blog ! . Leslie always told me that if she ever travelled to Northern Cyprus or knew anyone who was traveling there, that I would receive a postcard from the trip. Well guess what, she kept her word. Pinar recently travelled to the area, and I am the happy recipient of 2 cards. So thank you Pinar and Leslie. I couldn't have done it without you both.

Another card received yesterday is from Manchester, England. It is a picture of The Central Library, which hosts one of the largest collection of books outside London. King George V opened the library on 17 July 1934. Manchester has a number of firsts attached to it. It was the site of the world's first railway station, the first programmable computer was developed there, and scientists first split the atom there. I'm impressed ! Regular contributor David sent the card along. The stamp shows a peony design by Kate Faulkner. It is from a set of stamps issued 5 May 2011 entitled 150 years of Morris & Co that Royal Mail hopes will showcase artwork over the last 150 years. Thanks David for this one.

I think I'll end this update here. I planned a couple more cards but I'll save them for another time. Thanks for reading, and take care.

By the way, is anybody out there, is anybody actually reading what I write here ? Sometimes I wonder , do people really seek out this blog ? I don't know. I read other people's blogs about postcards, and stamps, but I never know about mine. Sorry, I didn't mean to go off on this tangent, but I did anyway.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Here's a couple of great cards to start off the month of June. The first card is postmarked at Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, however, the sender's address is Port Angeles, Washington, USA. It's a really great card though, a wonderful addition for my aircraft on postcards collection. It shows us a Lockheed Constellation entitled The Great Silver Fleet, of Eastern Airlines fame. The Constellation came into its own, after World war II, as a popular, fast civilian airliner. Lockheed's elegant Connie looked fast even when it stood still. As the first pressurized airlines in widespread use, the Constellation helped to usher in affordable and comfortable air travel. This card is an enlargement of a United States stamp from 1997. The stamp was issued in a sheet of 20 Classic American Aircraft. Have a look at it, it's a nice sheet of stamps. When I saw this card , it brought back memories of living and working in Stephenville , Newfoundland. I worked at the Stephenville Airport ( YJT) from 1978-1985 and for most of that time there was a Constellation ( CF-BFN) parked just off the ramp. It was in a somewhat state of disrepair , but was still a beautiful sight. I know of a picture of CF-BFN in its better days, parked on the Stephenville ramp, but it is copyrighted by the photographer, so I can't show it. Would love to though. It had previously been used to fly fresh fish from Stephenville to New York. I guess I'm getting a little of track but that often happens to me where aircraft are concerned. I have aircraft pictures on my office walls, aircraft models on my shelves, books about aircraft in the bookcase and even a clock shaped like an altimeter just ahead of where I am sitting. As I said earlier it's a great card and I'm glad to have received it. Beth sent it to me after I came upon her project called The Postcard Project. Beth used a Canadian Royal Wedding 2011 stamp showing the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.The stamp was issued on April 29, their wedding day. Beth used some great stickers and stampings , so the card is very busy on the back. Thanks to Beth for this one.

On to card # 2 from Venezuela. It is from Rafael, a good friend of mine. He is originally from Venezuela but now lives in Canada. Rafael's card shows Canaima National Park located in southern Venezuela, and was posted in Maracaibo. Rafael used a stamp from a mini sheet of 10 different stamps issued in 2006 for SENIAT, The National Integrated Service of Customs and Tax Administration.

Here is the final card for today. It is a map card from Honduras. We can see from the map that Honduras shares borders with Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Thanks to April for this card. The stamp was issued in 2005 and celebrates 70 years of diplomatic relations with Japan.

That's the update for this time. Thanks to Beth, Rafael and April for their cards. See you soon. Comment if you have one. Take care.